LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: OPPOSING A GO-CART TRACK AS PLANNED

Dear Editor:

I am a resident of the area that would be affected by the go-cart track proposed for the northeast corner of Kingshighway and Lexington. Wednesday's Missourian carried an article consisting primarily of information provided by people associated with the track. Your article contained inaccuracies which need to be exposed.

It stated that there are no churches or dwellings within half a mile from that location. My own home is less than half a mile from that location, and there are several homes which are much closer, not only in the Woodland Hills / Woodland Place / Randol Farms area but also in the Kage Road area and in the northern part of Kingsway. Likewise there are two churches in very close proximity to that property, and three or four more within a half mile.

In addition, although much of the residential land closest to the property is not developed at this time, it does not mean that it would not otherwise be built on later. Is the city going to condemn all that land that would become unusable if the go-cart track is approved?

Attorney McHaney claims that a line of trees separates the proposed site from the residential areas to the east. These trees may help hide the visual blight, but they will not do anything for the acoustical blight coming from such a facility. There is no guarantee that those trees will remain there. The owner of that land might have other plans than to provide a visual buffer for the residential area to the east.

According to your article, the noise from ONE cart would have an intensity of 50 db measured at 100 feet from the cart. This appears to be unrealistic since a lawnmower produces approximately 65 db at that distance. If these are indeed well-muffled carts, what is to prevent the operator from removing the mufflers once the sound tests are over and the operation is under way?

Many people in Cape at this time of the year are disturbed by large flocks of noisy birds and shoot off firecrackers to scare them away. While the birds are here for only a few days and are noisy for only a few hours, the go-carts would keep going day after day after day, continuous and unrelenting and not so easily silenced.

GUILIO VENEZIAN

Cape Girardeau